Happiness, prosperity and progress for our nation – the next ten years

1. Thank you, Dr Kalpana. Good afternoon to you.

2. Good afternoon, Ms Hazel Poa.

3. Thank you very much to IPS for inviting me to the closing plenary of the Young Singaporeans Conference 2020. We pondered over the phrase “happiness, prosperity and progress for our nation”.

   1. I think you have had a lot of dialogue on this; and I listen with interest to the topics you had curated for the dialogue yesterday, which are particularly important for us, and undergird how we see progress, prosperity and happiness as a society.

4. Our Pledge was written at a time when there was a lot of turmoil for our young nation.

5. Ms Poa showed us an earlier iteration of the Pledge. We must remember that it was in the 60s that we started looking at this.

   1. It was a period of sustained communal tension and racial strife;

   2. We had separated from Malaysia and were faced with existential questions: What was our identity as a people? As a young nation, what did we stand for?

6. Our founding fathers knew that we could not chart a path forward without having something that would rally our people, bring them together – the focus being our nation.

   1. It’s not just happiness, prosperity and progress for oneself or another; but for our nation.

   2. That’s the emphasis, that’s the key; and it is in that perspective that I would look at the Pledge as well.

7. Since the Pledge was written, we all know how it has worked out for our country.

   1. We have seen significant progress over the last few decades: we have developed our country; we have uplifted our people.

   2. We have built a community of diverse people coming together as one Singapore, giving us a unique hodge-podge of different backgrounds but at the same time, a common identity and unity.

8. A question for me when I first saw this topic was: You’re asked to speak about the words of the Pledge for the next ten years or beyond. Is that vision still relevant? Does it still resonate with us? Should it still resonate with us?

9. I reflected on this for a while before I decided how to approach this topic, and I would say yes!

   1. An aspiration towards happiness, prosperity and progress – they do not go out of fashion, or lose relevance.

   2. They might mean different ideals to different people, but these are meant to be enduring aspirations.

   3. At the same time, we must also adapt.

   4. These aspirations must necessarily articulate a different meaning for every succeeding generation, as our norms and context shift, and as we continually develop as a nation.

10. Today, the elephant in the room is, of course, the COVID pandemic. It is a crisis that has disrupted so many aspects of our lives including jobs and finances. It is natural for young people in this position, especially those just coming out of school and looking for a job, to think about what this means for them; what happiness, prosperity and progress are in the context of trying to get a job, which will be difficult now.

11. There is no one right answer. Because definitions of Happiness, Prosperity and Progress (HPP) are as diverse as each of us; as how we are brought up, where we came from, and our own considerations. That is the important part of how we define HPP – that it does mean different things to different people.

    1. One important consideration for me is that our society must provide space for each of these varied definitions to co-exist – what might make one happy, or another less happy, must be allowed to co-exist.

    2. Even in our diversity, we need to find ways to converge on key values and priorities for our nation, so that we can decisively act on them.

12. As a starting point, what should national HPP be today, for the next ten years, and beyond?

    1. It is a critical question for our young leaders.

    2. All of you, the younger generation.

    3. I would suggest:  the aspirations can be the same as what was articulated in the Pledge many decades ago – but the path towards achieving them can be different.

13. What we need for this to happen is for each of you to be at the front-and-centre, charting our future direction.

    1. Not only will you be deeply affected by any decisions we – in Government, civil society, organisations, agencies – make about the future, but more importantly, each of you is also uniquely positioned to contribute towards these aspirations.

    2. A lot more, I would say, than the general population at the time when Singapore was first founded; when education levels were lower, and the population was still aspiring to meet the lower ranks of Maslow’s hierarchy of needs.

    3. Today we are different. Each of you as young people can define and shape the country you want to see.

14. Why do I have this confidence? It is largely because of what I have seen, and lived experiences: 

    1. Despite the very trying times we are in today - where jobs is a struggle; the economy is down; financially, many of us feel more strapped – many of you are galvanised to think beyond yourselves, and advocate for important social causes that benefit society. 

       1. In an IG poll that I put out earlier this week, I asked young people to share their desires about such issues. Their answers did resonate, Dr Kalpana, with the kind of topics that you have discussed: climate change; mental well-being; equality in our society; supporting the less privileged; and growing the common spaces for each us from diverse backgrounds to co-exist.

       2. But the one common thread behind all these topics – it’s all about the “we”. There’s no “me” in many of these topics.

15. COVID-19 has heightened, but certainly not dampened, your spirit and instincts to care for others.

    1. I’ll quote a survey statistic to you, if I may. The Deloitte Millennial Survey 2020 found that 3 in 4 millennial and Gen Z respondents reported greater awareness and sympathy towards the needs of others, after the onset of COVID-19.

    2. It’s a common phenomenon, but the fact that three-quarters of our young people feel this way – and not just feel this way, but are energised to do something better; to play an active part in creating a “better normal”, not just a “new normal” post-COVID – is really heartening.

    3. It is a strength that we have as a society, and I hope that we can harness it well.

16. I am very glad that the Young Singaporeans Conference 2020 has stimulated robust conversations on happiness, prosperity and progress over the past few days.

    1. This is important because it is a first step towards creating a “better normal” for all of us.

17. Allow me to build on your discussions by giving you my views on the three words: what they mean to me and what I think we can do better as a society to achieve them.

Remaining prosperous in the next decade

18. Let me first address the topic of prosperity.

    1. From the outset, similar to what Ms Poa outlined, we ought not pursue material prosperity for the sake of it alone. We do so to give ourselves and our future generations more options to navigate an uncertain future.

    2. We all know that we are a little red dot: small, punch above our weight.

    3. Small countries do not have many options; but small countries who are economically prosperous have far better options.

    4. This is evident during the COVID-19 pandemic. Not only was Singapore able to secure the baseline in terms of food security, water, energy, and so on, we have also been able to obtain additional budgets to sustain Singaporeans, through a range of different difficulties in jobs, livelihoods. We have also managed to support our practitioners in arts, culture and sports through these budgets.

    5. We put in about S$100 billion back into our economy – that’s about 35% of GDP - without borrowing.

       1. In other words, without placing a burden on future generations.

       2. As a government, that is important for us. Because much as we see a need to help Singaporeans today, financially and through their jobs, it is also important that this burden is not passed on from one generation to another.

       3. Contrast this with the UK: a large, established country with lots of history. Just a few days ago I saw news that they borrowed £400 billion, which is about 18% of their GDP - but that was entirely borrowed. It means that if they are not able to meet this in the current budget, it becomes a debt for future generations.

19. Ultimately, history has shown us that a declining economy cannot sustain a thriving society in the longer-term – thriving, from the perspective of things that go well beyond material needs. And so, it is the responsibility of a good government to ensure economic prosperity, and to be able to achieve this equitably.

20. For Singapore, in addition to this, having a cohesive society and stable, incorruptible political system will give us an edge.

    1. There are many disruptive forces around the world today, that threaten this cohesiveness and stability; threaten the way in which we understand our society; and deepen, or try to deepen, fault lines.

    2. Algorithms create echo chambers, exposing us to perspectives similar to our own, without differing opinions and a balanced civic conversation. That is something that we need to be mindful of.

21. We need to remain an open society – having a space for all, welcoming to people who can contribute to Singapore, and who believe in what we stand for as a multicultural society.

22. Why do we need a prosperous and cohesive society?

23. Let me share with you an image of a tree, any other tree, like many trees you see around Singapore. But I use this as an analogy for what I want to say. Imagine the roots of this tree which you can’t see, hidden well beneath the surface, representing Singapore’s prosperity, fundamental to the tree’s survival and long-term growth.

24. If prosperity and cohesiveness are the roots of the tree, then our people are generations upon generations of new branches, shoots, leaves, striving for their place in the sun, to reach greater heights, all sustained by the strength and stability of the root structure.

    1. The leaves will face fresh winds of challenge, and change.

    2. Our younger generations, in the same breath, will face many new challenges: rapid globalisation, rising and changing in education standards, the pace of technological advancement, just to name a few. These are all relentless.

    3. But I digress a little to say that it is not enough for our people just to be well-educated. We must continually enhance skills and at the same time, build more options in terms of overseas exposure, pathways to pursue arts and sports seriously as a career; as something that fuels passion.

25. Going back to my tree, to ensure the its long-term survival, its trunk and branches must be able to adapt to evolving circumstances. 

    1. We live in a tropical climate but most trees in other parts of the world are subject to evolving circumstances, four seasons every so often. Their branches, leaves and developmental structure must adapt themselves to the changing circumstances. 

    2. Likewise, we must be adaptable. In Singapore, for us to grow, we must also have sound fundamentals.

    3. Many young Singaporeans are already building a spirit of adaptability, entrepreneurship, and indeed grit during the COVID-19 crisis. This spirit has always been there, I believe, but it has been brought to the fore by the crisis.

    4. Take Lee Min, as an example. She’s a 28-year-old Singaporean educator. COVID-19 piqued her interest in tech-enabled teaching and learning. So, she and her friends are now implementing an online platform where students can get homework help from the community, and earn rewards for sharing their knowledge. It is a platform that rewards you being communal. The idea won them the third prize at a virtual hackathon.

26. Another aspect of adaptability is to be nimble to global shifts. 

    1. A 2019 McKinsey report found that Asia is likely to top 50% of global GDP by 2040; Asia will drive 40% of the world’s consumption, and will have a good chance of being the world’s centre of gravity by that time.  

    2. COVID-19 may affect Asia’s short-term prospects, but it is unlikely to reverse this shift. 

    3. To equip young people for this, our public agencies are making a concerted push to increase exposure. 

    4. Take the National Youth Council (NYC), for example, which has launched the Asia-Ready Exposure Programme (AEP) to enable up to 1,000 youths a year to acquire cross-cultural skills and understand the region better through projects and language programmes. 

    5. I, for one, see this as particularly important because besides technical skills, we need to enable our young people with EQ, interpersonal skills and cultural skills. Understanding the community you serve or work in, understanding the business ethic and culture: these are soft skills that would enable us to go that much further, offer our services that much more, than our closest competitor.

27. As our youths prepare for economic shifts, and continue our path of growing the tree, the Government and private sector must work together to create sufficient, diverse economic opportunities, through anchoring investments in Singapore and transforming our industries.

28. We are often asked, at dialogues and conversations, why do we have MNCs coming here? The short answer is: it creates jobs, opportunities, pathways. If you didn’t have these large corporates here, leveraging technology, employing our Singaporean workforce, eventually transferring skillsets, technology and know-how to them, then I think we will be the poorer for it overall. We must keep an open mind when it comes to the economy and continue to attract top talent into Singapore.

29. We must also continue to nurture a fertile environment for our prosperity tree, where young Singaporeans feel confident about achieving their aspirations.  

    1. This is part of the very important work done by the Future Economy Council (FEC); COVID-19 has given it greater urgency. 

    2. For individuals who need more support during this period, under the SGUnited Jobs and Skills package, more than 100,000 job and skills training opportunities have been created. I know that they have not been fully filled, so for one or more of you from the audience who needs a reference point: come to SGUnited, there are options available.

Measuring our nation’s progress

30. Second, after we have talked about the baseline of prosperity, what it means for our country and how it can support us, let me turn next, to the question of progress. It is a more difficult question.

    1. Because first, we will ask: How do you measure progress? What is it? How do you know you have progressed?

31. This will be more nuanced, and differentiated between people, but there is room for all.

32. One obvious metric of progress is growth in prosperity. Most of us are aware of the fact that we track GDP growth per capita growth, real income growth and so on. By those measures, Singapore has done well overall. Our real GDP per capita and real median income have each grown by at least 25% in the last decade¹.

33. But I think we will all agree that that cannot be our only criteria.

34. There are at least three other yardsticks which I would say are relevant to measuring our country’s progress, especially in the next ten, fifteen years.

    1. GDP, real income growth and employment may have been a more relevant yardstick when we were still developing as a nation in the 60s and 70s.

    2. But for the next bound, beyond SG50 and towards SG100, there are other yardsticks. 

    3. They must inform our policymaking as a Government, and will be increasingly important in the years to come. Let me quickly outline a few.
       
       A fairer society

35. First, we want to achieve a fairer society, one of opportunities for all, throughout life. 

36. As a young nation with limited resources, we invested in the basics at the start – public education, healthcare, housing, security – and made our investments count. 

37. Today, standing on the shoulders of our forefathers, we have seen incomes rise across the board, faster at the bottom 20th percentile than at the median².

    1. Inequality remains a challenge for us, though I am sure you have seen the news that it has stabilised. Over the last ten years, our Gini coefficient, before accounting for taxes and transfers, and based on the square root scale which is used by OECD, has fallen from 0.431 in 2009 to 0.411 in 2019.

    2. This compares well with many developed countries such as Norway, with a coefficient of 0.429, Denmark, with 0.447, and United States with 0.506³. 

    3. On a per household member basis, we are now at 0.398 after government taxes and transfers, as announced at MOF’s Singapore Public Sector Outcomes Review (SPOR) 2020 yesterday.

    4. At the same time, it will be harder to maintain the same rate of social mobility – harder, but something we must work hard at nonetheless. 

    5. Why harder? Parents have become better off. Parents of this generation face different challenges compared to prior generations. In the past, parents found it more difficult to put their kids through school; it was an achievement if the kids went through to university. Today, many more are able to achieve a university education. But with this progress, we will see a degree of inequality. And we must work hard to reduce that inequality.

38. It will take proactive Government intervention – as early on in life as pre-school, which we have done – to keep our society a fair one, where everyone can improve and succeed regardless of their starting points. 

39. In fact, we must try, as far as possible, to make our starting points similar. 

40. This, in my view, is a critical objective of our socioeconomic policies.

41. We are focusing our immediate efforts on helping Singaporeans with COVID-19, but in the longer term we must set our sights farther, and focus not just on sustaining, but actively improving fairness in the longer term. 

42. We will be looking at different aspects of this. No one has the complete answer to how this can be achieved. But let me outline a few initiatives that we have done, on several policies. 

43. First, on education. We must continue to tilt the gradient of resources to favour students from disadvantaged families so that they will not see financial or social factors as hindrances that inhibit the development of their full potential even before they get onto the starting point.

44. On employment, we must see greater fairness not just in topping up wages but in continually transforming and creating better jobs, and making sure that our people are better trained and equipped – training throughout the life cycle, not just when they leave school – to ensure that they continue to be on an upward-moving escalator of improving productivity and rising wages.

45. Third, home ownership. We make sure that HDB flats are affordable as homes to Singaporeans.

46. We ensure that healthcare is available to all – not just all who can pay, but to all Singaporeans. 

47. Upholding fairness, to my mind, is about protecting a deeper sense of assurance as well. Not just in the economic and social measures that I have outlined, but in ensuring that we are treated equally, regardless of gender, race, or family background.

    1. This has come up recently in Parliament, when we debated the Parti Liyani case. You would all be familiar with some aspects of this case. 

    2. Let me assure you: the issue of fairness for all, ensuring that everyone is protected from the same perspective, is fundamental to our values and to our institutions; and we must work hard to foster mutual understanding between Government and citizens through more frank and direct engagement.

48. I recently spoke with many young people to understand their concerns and aspirations about Singapore’s criminal justice system. I saw this as an opportunity to marry the two groups of stakeholders in my two Ministries: young people and concerns over the criminal justice system, particularly on the sentencing framework for causing hurt as well as sexual offences. 

    1. The engagement raised many important points about the sentencing framework. 

    2. Many agreed that the principle of rehabilitation is important, but nonetheless asked if deterrence should be given greater weight than rehabilitation especially for cases involving adult offenders who commit hurt or sexual offences. 

    3. We have taken this feedback into consideration and we will address them. 

49. Beyond fairness in our criminal justice system, equal opportunity across different backgrounds is also integral to the progress of our society. 

50. We must not be impeded in our life choices because of differential treatment or stereotyping. I am sure you would have discussed this in your own conversations. It is something we must regard as a work in progress, and keep working hard at ensuring these are norms that we expect in society.

51. One area that I think you would have spoken about in the conference is the treatment of women in Singapore. 

52. Women in Singapore have made significant progress over the years. 

    1. If you look at legislation and policies to protect and uplift women, I think they have evolved alongside societal norms. 

    2. But we can do more, and we have set ourselves the goal of broader consultation, through the Conversations on Singapore Women’s Development.

    3. It is a conversation with fellow Singaporeans from all walks of life – women and men, young people and seniors – to get feedback and recommendations on what it means to continually make progress for women in the homes, the workplaces, schools and community.

    4. To me that is another measure of progress: looking at gender equality not just as a win for women; but a win for our society. 

    5. Indeed, we can make a plug for it now: here is a QR code www.go.gov.sg/sgwomen ↗ (opens in new tab). Scan it and contribute your ideas and thoughts on how we can do this. 

    6. It is something we feel deeply passionate about. We must take the lead in ensuring that women are on a similar platform as anyone else in society. We must ensure that there are changes not just in rules, regulations and norms, but in mindsets. Refuting the objectification of women, for example, is a mindset issue. It may not happen overnight, but it is something that we want to do.  
       
       Developing the “intangibles”

53. The second yardstick of how I would regard progress is how we nurture the “intangibles” that constitute the heart of our nation: how we create that indomitable community spirit, and a vibrant arts, heritage and sports landscape. 

54. That’s what makes a community special. Of course, you may say that I am biased because of my Ministry. But I think most of us would feel that for us to be a special country - the different things people do outside of the workplace, outside of homes, they take on a special meaning. 

55. Beyond our material needs, placing a greater premium on our higher-order needs as society is, in my view, the “secret Rojak sauce” to achieve progress.

    1. What is special about Rojak? When you look at Rojak, you can see the different items in it – the pineapple, the turnip, the you char kway and so on. But they all come together, making it special. 

    2. We are not like a blended fruit juice or smoothie, where it is all homogeneous. Singapore is like that Rojak, where we are of different races, bound together by a shared sense of identity, culture, sports, heritage – that’s why I call it “secret Rojak sauce”. 

56. The recent pandemic has indeed offered us very valuable lessons about the importance of community. 

    1. I think many of us, during Circuit Breaker, valued this a lot more. 

    2. It was starkly apparent that we are better off taking collective responsibility for one another, than acting only from individualistic motivations. 

    3. The pandemic has taught this lesson well. Because in the pandemic, we are only as strong as the weakest person amongst us. If you are in a room where one person is not disciplined and is likely to be a carrier of the virus, then the whole room is at risk. 

    4. So, I think that has taught us that we really need to look at the “we”, much more than the “I”, when it comes to developing progress for our society. 

    5. Many Singaporeans have stepped up to provide mutual support to one another. It is a spirit and culture that I hope to see continue well beyond COVID-19. 

    6. The lessons we have learned from COVID-19 should not disappear as quickly as the virus might. Lessons such as valuing human interaction – having a cup of coffee with a friend, even shaking hands, physical contact which we humans are so used to and so desire – I hope we continue to have them with us, even after the pandemic is behind us.

Becoming a happier society

57. The third yardstick I have in mind, is that we must also progress in terms of the quality of life and well-being of our people. At the end of the day – this merges into the third point on happiness – we must be content and happy with what we do.

    1. According to the World Happiness Report 2020, we rank 31st out of 153 countries on subjective life evaluation⁴. It is a technical term which I won’t go into, but you can research what it means. 

58. But the question, really, for us is: At a systemic level, what are the different factors that can affect our happiness?

    1. Obviously, having good economic outcomes, good basic healthcare and trustworthy public institutions, making sure our women and children are safe on streets - this is a crucial base; 

    2. Beyond that, there are factors pertaining to our lived social environment such as the trust amongst people and social equality.

    3. Earlier on, Ms Poa spoke about being able to do what we want, and having a social safety net so that we can be a bit bolder in what we want to do. I would tend to agree. 

59. We have tended to perform well, as a country, on the hard factors – trust in public institutions, security, our economy. The recent pandemic affected our economy but, by and large, we have done well.

60. But I would say there are also other individual or cultural circumstances that can also contribute to our perception of happiness, and they are much harder to pinpoint, and much more personal to each individual.

    1. Aristotle thought deeply about what these would be, when he considered these questions of happiness over two millennia ago. 

    2. He says happiness – or ‘eudaimonia’ – was not merely the blissful mood enjoyed by those who spent all day doing pleasurable activities; but it is also a state of mind as we go about fulfilling our human potential, living a virtuous life and having meaningful relationships. I think those are the intangibles that make happiness complete.

61. Before you think I am focused only on millennia-old data, there is also a wealth of modern-day research that tends to point in the same direction as Aristotle: we are happier when we connect with our communities, find meaning in life, and devote time to benefitting others.

    1. In particular, a recent study in the UK⁵ suggests that volunteering – giving your time and services – boosts happiness and mental health. This is even after accounting for the fact that happier people already are more likely to volunteer. 

    2. In other words, those who were less happy to start with, became happier over time after they started to volunteer. 

    3. I put it down to several reasons, one of which must be that we take pleasure, satisfaction and joy in seeing that other people benefit from the work that we do. 

62. According to the 2019 National Youth Survey – and now I’m drilling down specifically to the younger crowd – maintaining strong family relationships, acquiring news skills and knowledge, and helping the less fortunate are among the top ten aspirations of youths in Singapore. 

    1. It is easy to de-prioritise such endeavours, especially when we go through the regime of the everyday grind – the job, being a young parent; it is tough especially in current pandemic circumstances.

    2. But give this a moment of thought. What brings you not just happiness, but sustained happiness? How do feel at the end of the day: Do you take back the pleasure of helping someone? Do you enjoy the benefit of seeing someone you tutor online progress in life because of your input? And do you consciously give these endeavours greater importance in your daily life?

    3. I think each of us will have our own priorities, and ways in which we can measure happiness in our own life journey.

63. At the same time, mental health, which I heard Dr Kalpana say was one of the most popular topics in the conference, is a very important issue for us. 

    1. It is a topic at the forefront of many young Singaporeans’ minds and hearts, even if it remains unarticulated. 

    2. Many of you know that nearly 1 in 7 Singaporeans will experience a mental health condition in their lifetime, and the rate is closer to 1 in 5 for those aged 18 to 34⁶. The young person is more likely to experience a mental health condition and very often, they may not even know that this has affected them.

    3. The first hurdle for those facing mental health issues to seek help is the stigma attached to it, the fear that others will perceive us negatively if we admit or open up that we have this problem and we need treatment. 

    4. And so, as a society, we must strive to eradicate this stigma, ensure that people feel comfort and assurance when they open up, and provide safe avenues, especially for young people, to seek help early on.

64. We need whole-of-society support to drive change. This year, the Youth Mental Well-being Network was formed to bring together like-minded individuals to generate and implement ideas to support youth mental well-being.

65. I did an Instagram Live on mental health some weeks ago and heard some fantastic ideas, such as making sure that we equip first responders. These are not doctors or counsellors, but your friends: the classmate who sits next to you; your fellow teammate from the sports team. 

66. Perhaps after this session, I would like to find out what was discussed at the Young Singaporeans Conference, so that we can listen to your concerns and make sure we close the gaps in the various Government initiatives to address this very important issue.

Charting our future together

67. Let me conclude now, by making a few points. 

68. I have outlined my views, but my answers and views may well not be yours. And it does not matter: there is no one right answer for this. The perspectives I have offered are far from final or definitive. 

    1. Neither I nor the Government will have all the answers, and we do not attempt to prescribe what HPP might mean for each individual in our society.

69. I look forward to a lively dialogue session later. It is important for us to frame these issues well and understand where we are in the new social compact.  

    1. We must build a partnership across sectors – between Government and people, amongst people, and between different groups in civic society – so that we can navigate complex challenges. 

    2. It is important for us to constantly remind ourselves that Singapore’s position in the world today is by dint of sheer hard work – hard work to ensure that we do not take our multiculturalism and diversity for granted.

70. I want to draw your attention to the I want to draw your attention to the ↗ (opens in new tab), or SG YAP, that was launched by my Ministry and NYC last year. It aims to get youths to come forward and tell us what they see as happiness, prosperity and progress, and how they think we can partner with each of you to achieve this. 

    1. Key values youths identified – such as inclusiveness, fairness, care, sustainability – are almost, in today’s conversations, a given. 

    2. These factors must undergird what we regard as progress. How do we get there? We invite suggestions from all of you.

Conclusion

71. I leave you with three ways in which you can consider making change through action. 

    1. First, collaborate with peers. Over the past three days, you would have met individuals who share your ideas, maybe disagree with you, and offer different perspectives. I hope you can keep in touch with them, and enlarge our shared space. Because no one has a monopoly over good ideas. The more we talk to each other, socialise our ideas, and develop them with each other, the better and more refined our ideas can be.

    2. Next, actively contribute to society. When you see a problem, ask: what can I do to be part of the solution? What can I do to make it happen? How can I be a good friend or Samaritan?

    3. Finally, connect with and make full use of the support available to you. If you have an idea to make change but need some help to develop it, find funding or mentors, come and tell us. MCCY and the National Youth Council will be more than keen to work with you to do this. 

72. Thank you very much for having me again. To all the young leaders out there: your participation, your voice and your contributions will count a lot towards making our country happier, more prosperous and certainly help us achieve progress in the next ten years and beyond.

73. Thank you.

¹ Real GDP per capita increased by 25% from 2010 to 2019. Real median income for full-time employed residents (including employer CPF) increased by 33% from 2010 to 2019.

² Between June 2014 and June 2019, employment incomes rose across the board, with annualized income growth for full-time employed residents increasing at 3.8% per annum. Income at the 20th percentile rose faster than at the median, increasing at 4.4% per annum over the same period.

³ The Gini coefficients of Norway, Denmark and the United States are based on household income from all sources among all households. Singapore’s Gini coefficient is based on monthly household income from work (including employer CPF) among resident employed households.

⁴ As measured by the question: “Please imagine a ladder with steps numbered from 0 at the bottom to 10 at the top. The top of the ladder represents the worst possible life for you. On which step of the ladder would you say you personally feel you stand at this time?”.

⁵ Lawton, R.N., Gramatki, I., Watt, W. et al. Does Volunteering Make Us Happier, or Are Happier People More Likely to Volunteer? Addressing the Problem of Reverse Causality When Estimating the Wellbeing Impacts of Volunteering. Journal of Happiness Studies (2020).

⁶ IMH’s Singapore Mental Health Study, 2016.